"Guilty" Verdict in ESL Voter Fraud Trial

The Prosecution told the jury “You cannot hide from the tapes.”
And they didn’t!

VIDEO CLIP OF VERDICT ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY, HERE
A terrific clip that shows federal agents raiding East St. Louis City Hall!

** All five defendants are found guilty! **

Kelvin Ellis (on left) will also be tried for attempted murder of a government witness. The witness had threatened to expose a prosititution ring Ellis was running out of East St. Louis City Hall. Mr. Ellis spent time in prison for abusing a city post before becoming the Director of Regulatory Affairs in East St. Louis.
Charles Powell, Jr. (on right) is the Democratic Party Chairman in East St. Louis.

* The defendants were found guilty on all counts! *

“This is a wake-up call for East St. Louis,” said juror LaMont Reed Jr. of East St. Louis. “I’ve seen this corruption all my life.”

The defendants were found guilty on all counts following a four-week trial in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis.

Four of the defendants — Jessie Lewis, Sheila Thomas, Yvette Johnson and former city official Kelvin Ellis — were found guilty of conspiracy to commit election fraud and election fraud. All worked for the Democratic Party during the election last November.

Democratic Party boss and former City Councilman Charlie Powell was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit election fraud.

The five were charged with paying voters up to $10 a vote to vote for Democratic candidates during the Nov. 2 general election.

The jury deliberated about five and a half hours before returning the verdicts.

The Federal Court Trial started on June 1, 2005 on the 5 East St. Louis Democrats accused of voter fraud. The East St. Louis Democratic Party was given $67,000 before the November 2nd election to “Get Out the Vote!”

More on the verdict here and here.

This is how the prosecution left the jurors yesterday in the East Louis Voter Fraud Trial.

In closing arguments on Tuesday, the prosecution again went over the evidence presented during the trial including the taped recordings by the federal witnesses and East St. Louis Democratic election workers:

Carr replayed many of the audiotapes the jury had previously heard of conversations Youngblood and McIntosh had with the defendants. Carr used the tapes to support his theory the five defendants conspired to buy votes for $5 and $10 apiece to elect Democrat Mark Kern the St. Clair County Board chairman in the Nov. 2 election.

“But there was a perception in East St. Louis he was racist,” said Carr, adding this had upped the price for bringing voters to the polls on Election Day.

Which explains why the St. Clair County Democratic Central Committee sent $79,000 to East St. Louis Democratic precinct committeemen just before the election, Carr said.

“To make sure Mr. Kern was elected — that’s what this conspiracy was about,” Carr said. “This was business as usual in East St. Louis on election day.”

Kern, the former mayor of Belleville, narrowly won the race for County Board chairman, thanks to winning more than 82 percent of the vote in East St. Louis.

Kern, who has not been charged with a crime, has denied any wrongdoing.

Previous posts on the Democratic Voter Fraud Trial in East St. Louis:
East St. Louis makes Voter Fraud a Business
$5 for Non-Racists; Racists are $10
ESL Prosecution Witness Falters
Damning Tapes in East St. Louis Voter Fraud Trial
Witness Grilled at ESL Vote Fraud Trial
How to Buy Votes at ESL Vote Fraud Trial
“Showing Appreciation” at ESL Voter Fraud Trial
Democratic Vote Buyers May Get Pass
ESL Vote Fraud Trial Gets Nasty
Ugly Politics, Ugly Trial in ESL
Closing Arguments Wrap Up in ESL Voter Fraud Trial

Update: So glad to see Instapundit carry this story! This verdict is really a big win for all Americans!

Update 2: (10:30 PM) Team Powerline is also carrying the story,now. They have been following this story since January when the news broke about registered voters having the “Casino Queen” as a home address!

Update 3: (Thursday AM) Michelle Malkin has also been following this story since the news on “Swamp Dog” back in January. She has linked HERE today.

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Jim Hoft is the founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, one of the top conservative news outlets in America. Jim was awarded the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award in 2013 and is the proud recipient of the Breitbart Award for Excellence in Online Journalism from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation in May 2016. In 2023, The Gateway Pundit received the Most Trusted Print Media Award at the American Liberty Awards.

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Thanks for sharing!